


drabbles

by tigriswolf



Series: comment_fic drabbles [323]
Category: Angel: the Series, Leverage, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Genderswap, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Revenge, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-08-19 06:16:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 7,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20205097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigriswolf/pseuds/tigriswolf
Summary: Collection of drabbles written over the years. Warnings vary; check headers.NOTE: quite a bit of character death, sorry. :(





	1. make a list of what's lost (AU)

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Make a list of what’s lost  
Fandom: Leverage  
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Adrienne Rich.  
Warnings: character death  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 160  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: vitamin

_You know_, he can almost hear her say, _the sun gives people vitamins_. _I don’t know which one, but it’s not K. Is it? I’m pretty sure we get K from bananas. I like bananas. They’re best with chocolate pudding, though. Or peanut butter. Ooh, what about with both? Yeah, definitely best with both. While in sunlight. You get K either way, then, right? I love the sun. It’s so shiny and warm._

Her hair looked like sunlight. And she was so much fun. He could barely keep up with her, and he loved her so much, and she’s gone now. She’s gone.

“C’mon,” he hears Eliot mutter. “Time to make those fuckers pay.”

He wasn’t the only one who loved her, and he’s not the only one who misses her.

Alec ruined their lives without ever seeing their eyes. But Eliot will take their lives and watch their eyes die, and Alec knows it won’t be enough, but it’ll have to do.


	2. in vino veritas (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: in vino veritas  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: references to child abuse, substance abuse  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 225  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Eliot+any, He always stops after two beers

He knows what the team thinks. Quite a few people have other the years. It's obvious in the sad look Sophie gets in her eyes, especially after that MMA job, and the way Hardison always softens when Eliot's around kids. It's in the gentle way Parker touches him sometimes, how she's careful to move slowly. 

Eliot wasn't abused. Not physically, anyway. But he always tracks how much alcohol Nate's had, and he always stops himself after two. He wasn't hit, he wasn't beat, he wasn't bruised. 

The team thinks his father was a monster, at least until the ValueMart job, when Hardison listens to Eliot talk about his father's store. 

He has a sister; she's living in New Hampshire with her son. Eliot hasn't seen either of them in years. She's older than him. She wasn't home much when he was young. She wasn't there when Gran moved in, Gran with her wine. 

No, Eliot wasn't beaten by his father, or smacked by his mother. But he learned quickly that alcohol loosens tongues, and painful truths will fall right out. 

Eliot can take physical pain. But words will scar so deep, the wound might never heal. So he watches when people drink, keeps track, and he gets in-between whoever he needs to. 

He never drinks more than two. He's always been a quick learner.


	3. Stargate Atlantis xover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: untitled  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: AU for both at some point  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 190  
Prompt: Leverage/Stargate Atlantis, ensembles, the Leverage team help get Atlantis back to the Pegasus Galaxy

"This is insane," Eliot says flatly at the same time Hardison starts jumping around while squealing.

"This does seem a bit... more dangerous than our usual jobs," Sophie observes.

"The governments of the world have asked us to save it," Nate says, turning to look at Sophie. "Do any of you wanna say no?"

Eliot snorts. "Did you really just misquote that movie? This ain’t the time, Nate."

"Think they'll have alien buildings to jump off of?" Parker asks.

"I," Eliot announces, glancing at the mirror he knows they're being watched from, "want it on record that I am against this."

"I'd'a thought you'd be all for it," Hardison tells him, while still dancing around the room in some sort of geek ecstasy. "It's the most patriotic thing we'll ever do."

Nate says, "C'mon, let's go steal a galaxy," and dramatically storms out.

Sophie sighs, shrugs at Eliot, and follows. Hardison bounces out and Parker trails him, peppering questions at him.

Eliot always knew he'd die for this group of idiots, but he'd never imagined it'd be on another planet. He sighs, squares his shoulders, and hurries to catch up.


	4. Legendary (future!fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Legendary  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 150  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Prompt: Leverage, Sophie, Sophie's favorite myth or legend and why she likes it

There is a story that hasn't been told yet. One day, it'll be whispered by breathless grifters who've just begun, by art thieves and forgers, by anyone in the game. 

There was a crew, once, the greatest in the world—a hacker, a hitter, a grifter, a thief, and the brains behind it all. Each of them were the best, and they also learned to play each other's part, and there was absolutely nothing they couldn't do. The stole things that were unstealable, and they hacked the unhackable, and they never got caught. 

_It surely can't be true_, some doubters would say. 

_They had Eliot Spencer,_, the hitters say, _and Parker!_ the thieves chime in, _and Hardison,_ the hackers add, while the grifters sigh, _and Sophie Devereaux_.

_What about the brains?_ the doubters ask. 

_No one knows_, everyone says.

There are rumors, now. Hearsay. But it'll be legend soon enough.


	5. what is real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: what is real  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: none  
Pairings: implied Parker/Hardison  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 110  
Point of view third  
Prompt: Parker, the first time she stole something because she wanted to (and not because she needed it)

The bunny wanted to come home with her. He stared at her with those cute black eyes, his paws all spread out. _Hug me_, he said. _Take me home. I'm yours_.

Mrs. Monroe's back was turned, looking at the other animals she wouldn't get because they weren't necessary, and Mr. Monroe was all about the necessary.

_Hug me_, the bunny said.

Her shirt was too big, and she wore a sweatshirt over it anyway. The bunny fit snug against her and she wrapped her arms around her middle. 

(Much later, years and years, Hardison asks about the ragged bunny on her dresser. Parker smiles and says his name is Real.)


	6. mending (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: mending  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: major character death; AU during The Grave Danger Job  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 115  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage (Spoilers for The Grave Danger Job), Parker+any, Hardison doesn't survive the burial and Parker wants revenge.

Nate begs them not to, and Sophie leaves in tears, but Parker stands resolute in _his_ room and Eliot stands with her. 

"They took him from us," she says as Nate follows Sophie. She doesn't look over, doesn't reach for his hand. _His_ scent is still on the air, orange soda and cheetohs and sweat, and she doesn't move toward the bed or the shirt discarded on the floor. 

"We can't get him back," Eliot says softly. He doesn't move, either. 

"We can make them feel like we do," she whispers. 

_He_ wouldn't want that, wouldn't like that. But it's all she can think to do. 

"Yeah," Eliot says. He sounds tired. "That we can."


	7. in another life (genderswap AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: in another life  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: references to violence; mostly pre-pilot  
Pairings: Eliot/Damien Moreau, Maggie/Nate  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 825  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, any, they're all gender-swapped; Leverage, Eliot, hands stained red with blood

Sebastian retires after his fortieth birthday (the one nobody knows is his). It’s still fun but there’s no one he trusts enough at his back anymore. He still keeps up with the old crowd and the chatter, and he finds a nice quiet city in the States and goes back to his roots: theatre. He tries to put aside all of his masks and become—well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? 

He barely remembers who Laurence was, that stupid boy. Sebastian is better at just about everything, but sometimes… sometimes, he does miss Laurence so much. 

.

Eliot’s favorite thing is when the goons underestimate her. Not only is she a woman, she’s also kinda small. That’s two strikes against her. 

She loves it. 

See, the thing is, she’s quick and precise, and she smirks as they go down, one after the other. If they’d rushed her all at once, then maybe—but of course they didn’t. 

“I love watching you work,” Damien says, leaning against the wall. 

Eliot grins at him, wiping blood off her cheek. 

.

Parker knows there’s a lot of things he doesn’t know. But there’s also things no one knows better than he does. He likes shiny things, and hard-to-get-to things, and things other people have. He also likes money. 

Archie gave him a home all to himself and trained him on safes and lasers and alarms, and when Parker was about eighteen (they guessed) Archie said, “Well, I’ve taught you all I can.” Parker thinks he might’ve been angry and hurt but he’s not sure, and anyway, Archie had already given him more than anyone else ever had. 

It’s been ten years since then and Parker still has a home all to himself, and it’s full of stuff that’s his and also money. Sometimes, he even steals things to prove he can and then puts them back just because he can do that, too. 

.

“Oh, Nana would be _furious_,” Alecia mutters, deftly sidestepping a trap in the code. Nana had told her there was a whole world waiting for girls as good at computers as Alecia, and, yeah, she was right about that. But Alecia is pretty damn sure this is not what Nana meant. 

“I got you now,” she tells all of the pretty little bits of information. The CIA ain’t nothing compared to her. 

.

When Sam dies, Natalie feels part of her die, too. Mark is heartbroken but he doesn’t know that Sam could’ve been saved, and Jim is hurting for them, Natalie can tell, but he doesn’t know either, and after the funeral, after Sammy is in the ground where she can never hold him again—the pain and the despair begin to harden into something that Natalie Ford hasn’t felt in a long time. 

She drinks to hide it, to dampen it, to ignore it. 

And then Dubenich uses her son. For the first time in years, Natalie’s rage has a target and she focuses in. 

The bastard really should’ve just paid them. 

...

The worst thing Eliot ever does in her life, she does for Damien Moreau. 

She started working for him as a bodyguard and then began moving up until she was his chief enforcer, his favorite tool. She started for the pay, stayed for the thrill, and then—well, he’s charming. Elegant. She fell in love. Stupid, Mama would’ve said. _You stupid girl, you know the kind of man he is_.

Eliot knew the whole time. So many terrible things she’s done, under orders or for money or just to survive. 

Damien asks her to and so she does, and afterwards, before even reporting it done, she just looks at her hands. They aren’t shaking. They aren’t even splattered in red. They’re just… hands. Her hands. And they’ll never be clean again.

She goes home, to Damien’s office where he’s waiting, and she says, “I’m done.” 

No one walks away from Damien Moreau. No one except Eliot Spencer. 

.

Parker asks, “What did you do?” His head is tilted to the side, his shoulders tucked in, his hair even longer than Eliot’s. He’s so damaged and yet so innocent, and Eliot wants to keep him safe. 

She says, “Don’t ask me that, Parker. Because if you ask, I’ll tell you.” She would, too. She’s been hiding this truth for six months and she’s so tired. She wants them away from this, away from Damien. Alecia is still dripping water because Eliot had to play Damien’s game, and Natalie is looking at Eliot like she’s never seen her before. 

Of course she hasn’t. Eliot Spencer walked away from Damien Moreau and changed everything about herself.

She walked away. She didn’t scorch the earth behind her because he let her go. And now… she looks at Parker and Alecia, at Natalie and Sebastian, and she chooses. 

.

Eliot Spencer doesn’t ask forgiveness because she will never earn it. All she can do is protect the team until her dying day.


	8. put out to pasture (future!fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: put out to pasture  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: future!fic  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 280  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot/anyone, a ranch of his own and someone to share it with

He gets out after—well, he gets out. Goes back to Oklahoma and works anywhere they need a handyman or a touch with horses, anywhere he doesn’t have to talk much.

He doesn't look over his shoulder. Doesn't care if an old enemy tracks him down. Doesn't care if they try to break him before killing him. He doesn't care about much anymore.

But no one comes for him. 

He saves up his paychecks to buy a parcel of land, even though he could buy the state for how much is hidden away in a bank-account with a fake name. He won’t go near that money, though. Not even if he were starving. 

There’s blood on that money, and guilt. So much regret he can’t breathe sometimes.

He flinches around laughing blondes. Around motherly brunettes with bright smiles. Can’t stand fireworks or skyscrapers. 

It takes ten years of living hand-to-mouth before he buys that parcel of land. Four horses. He never expected to live so long, and sometimes wishes he had the courage to kill himself. But Grandma had told him that suicides don’t get to Heaven, and he knows that’s where they are. 

He wants to see them again. To apologize for being too slow. Too weak. He was unconscious while they died, and there’s no excuse for that. He wasn’t good enough and—

It should have been him. That’s why he was on the team. To take the punches and the gunshots and the killing blows. It should have been him, but it wasn’t and he’s got to live with that.

So he does. With his stamp-sized piece of ground and his four rescued horses, he lives with that.


	9. a very distinctive (fill in the blank) (xover w/ Teen Wolf)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: a very distinctive (fill in the blank)  
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)/Leverage  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: Takes place anytime for Leverage, but in a world where season 3 never happened for Teen Wolf  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 225  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Eliot, not many people know it, but Eliot Spencer is The Coolest Uncle Ever. Period.

"Okay, everyone," Stiles says, looking each of them in the eye, "there can be none, ABSOLUTELY NO, werewolf shenanigans for the upcoming week. Okay? Okay." He nods firmly. "NONE."

“Oh, no,” Scott breathes. “No, tell me he’s not—”

Stiles nods, a nervous smile on his face. “He is.” 

Scott facepalms. 

“What?” Derek finally demands, cutting off whatever Isaac or Erica were about to say. 

“My Uncle Eliot is gonna be spending the week with us,” Stiles says. “He’s ‘recuperating.’” Stiles actually uses the finger quotes and Derek rolls his eyes. “Hey, no, don’t roll your eyes at me, bucko!” Stiles says. “He’s—I don’t know what he does, he never talks about work, but he’s got scars like you would have if you didn’t heal, and I’ve made lists about it! He’s either an assassin or mob enforcer, or, like, the specialest special forces guy ever, and _he will_ notice if anything happens.”

“Look,” Isaac says, “he’ll only be here a week, right? Not a problem.” 

Stiles shakes his head, sighing.

…

(Uncle Eliot makes them in half a day.)

(Also, Chris Argent doesn’t look at Scott for months after Uncle Eliot leaves.)

(Also also, Eliot asks his older brother, “You’re really acting like you don’t know?” 

His brother says, “I’ll wait for my son to tell me.” 

Eliot just scoffs at him.)


	10. Nate's pride (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Nate’s pride  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: helps if you know something about cats  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 310  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot +Team, Client POV

Daddy used to keep cats. She remembers that much from when she was a little girl. He lost the sanctuary a long time ago and that's not why she's here now, but these people... they remind her so much of those days. 

Mr. Ford is a lion, the one who keeps the territory and fights off interlopers. He does some work, it seems, but not the most. He plans, but he doesn't really fight.

_Call me Sophie, dear_ is a panther, sleek and quick, sharp and soft. She'll lurk in the shadows except when stepping into the sun would be better, and she'll draw all eyes, keep people distracted while the others lunge in with the killing bite.

Hardison and Parker, they're something small and fast. Maybe a serval and an ocelot. Not as dangerous, but just as invisible. And can still do so much damage... but those four, as dangerous as they are...

Eliot is something more. She saw it from the first moment Sophie sat her down with this team, Mr. Ford's pride. Daddy had one tiger, that he'd rescued from some idiot who didn't realize how _big_ Siberians get. She's always liked tigers, and she used to watch him close every chance she got. Eliot's movements are as fluid as that tiger. He's attuned to everyone in the room like that tiger knew everything about his environment.

Eliot could kill everyone present just as easily as that tiger could've, just as fast. And that...

But she's come to these people for help. To save Maura and Colette's legacy. And as dangerous as they are... they'll be on her side.

A lion and a panther and a serval and an ocelot and a goddamned tiger. 

She'll have to go to confession later, but Maura and Colette need her, and Mr. Ford's pride is their last hope.


	11. We belong together like the open seas and shores (xover w/ Angel the Series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: We belong together like the open seas and shores  
Fandom: “Leverage”/“Angel the Series” crossover  
Disclaimer: not my characters; just for fun. Title from Daughtry.  
Warnings: spoilers for Ats; AU for AtS season five  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 715  
Point of view: third  
Notes: not in chronological order

_You gonna go after Wolfram and Hart?_ Lindsey asks from the mirror.

And Eliot answers, _Someday_.

They’d been best friends, growing up, identical twins with dirt-poor parents, two older brothers and a sister four years after.

Only Eliot and their sister are still alive.

_It wasn’t your fault, _Lindsey tells him when nightmares wake him up gasping. _I wanted out. You didn’t chase me away. _

_ I didn’t chase after you, either, _Eliot says, and doesn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

Lindsey got the brains and Eliot got the brawns—that’s what their eldest brother used to say. Lindsey spent all his time studying, had the highest grades in their year all the way to graduation. Eliot got in daily fights and only learned when Lindsey made him quiz him.

Lindsey graduated at the top of their class, with grades perfect enough for Wolfram and Hart to come calling. Eliot barely graduated at all.

_I need to know you forgive me, _Lindsey whispers. _That’s the only way I can move on._

Eliot doesn’t say a thing.

They saw each other sporadically over the years, with random phone calls in-between. Lindsey was an up-and-coming lawyer, while Eliot floundered. And then Eliot fell into the underbelly of society and found his calling.

Lindsey had always been driven to be the best, to shine, to rise above all the rest. Eliot finally realized how that felt and he rose through the ranks swiftly, the jack of all trades in retrieving or assassinating. Lindsey once asked his brother where he was going; Eliot choked on a laugh and rumbled out, _Hell_.

_They’re good people_, Lindsey says. _I’m glad you’ve fallen in with them_.

Eliot nods, but replies, _Not as good as you’da been_.

Lindsey never said goodbye. He said he had some loose ends to tie up in LA and he’d be back in three weeks.

Eliot had a job in Moscow. He was a world away when he heard Lindsey scream and then—nothing.

_Eliot_, Lindsey murmurs sometimes, _turn left_. Or _Not that way_. Or _Bad guy, duck!_ Before Lindsey died, Eliot had been a kick-ass fighter, but after? No one could get the drop on him.

He’d trade the reputation and prowess in less than a heartbeat to have his brother breathing again.

Eliot spent a month at his little sister’s home in Oklahoma City. She was the only family he had left. Her twin daughters were six and little boy eight. He took a break from retrieving to look after them and feel like a real person again.

It didn’t work. He only felt alive when he was breaking bones or making people bleed, and that didn’t worry him as much as it should. So he kissed his sister and the kiddos goodbye and vanished back into the underbelly of society, never pausing or resting, searching for something that died in Los Angeles when he wasn’t looking.

_You’re gonna get yourself killed, _Lindsey yells in the middle of a brawl. He’s been dead for three years and Eliot doesn’t look over, just ducks a punch and kicks some poor bastard in the ribs.

_Fuck you_, Lindsey snarls. Eliot takes a hit in the face and keeps smiling.

After they had make-up sex years too late, Aimee said, “I heard about your twin. I’m sorry.”

Eliot pretended to be asleep.

_Forgive me_, Lindsey begs. _El, come on. It’s been four years. Let me go_.

_No_, Eliot says. 

Lindsey’s middle name had been Spencer. Growing up, his hair had always been a wild tangle until high-school, when he cut it to look more respectable. 

They’d both loved horses. Never felt as free as on the back of a horse. 

_ Devereaux_ _suspects there’s more to you than breaking_ _faces_, Lindsey whispers. _Hardison looked into your background. Ford’s heard about you beyond what your file says. And Parker—man, she’s ten pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag._

_Don’t worry ‘bout me, Linny_, Eliot says. _The only person I trust is dead_.

Eliot was never a team player. He couldn’t trust anyone—a character flaw, Dad said. Mom said it was smart. 

Lindsey, though, didn’t just play on a team. He led it.

_You gonna go after Wolfram and Hart?_ Lindsey asks from the mirror.

And Eliot answers, _Today_.


	12. the little shadow (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset  
Fandom: Leverage  
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Crowfoot.  
Warnings: character death  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 150  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: illumination

She waits in the dark apartment, curled up on his bean bag. His orange drink tastes purple and the chips are stale. The computer keeps beeping and blinking, like it’s trying to tell her something, but she doesn’t know the language.

Eliot opens the door, silently walking in. He reaches for the light-switch, but pauses. “Parker,” he says. “It’s time.”

She shakes her head. It’s not time. It’ll never be time until Hardison is back to translate what the computer’s saying.

Sophie steps around Eliot and she does hit the light. Nate stays in the hall, a glass of alcohol in his hand. “Please, Parker,” Sophie murmurs. “For me.”

Parker closes her eyes and hums the theme from _Star Wars_, putting her fingers in her ears.

She’s not going anywhere until Hardison comes home.

Eliot turns off the light when they leave, and Parker doesn’t wipe away her tears.


	13. freedom (fluff)

Alec cannot take anymore of the sunshine glaring down at him and the branches that keep trying to smack him off the monster's back and just—is Eliot _grinning_?

"Dude, I miss air-conditioning!" he calls. “And the internet. I can get internet in a car. Hell, I can get internet on a sub at the bottom of the sea! But this monst—” The horse shies from something that ain’t even there and Alec grabs onto the pommel, sending up a prayer.

Eliot laughs. “Yeah, horses don’t get the internet.” His beast prances over and he pats it on the neck. “But cars don’t got souls.”


	14. prostration (pre-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: prostration  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: mention of suicide  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 115  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Nate, temptation

Sometimes, he wants to walk into traffic. Or off a building. There's ways to get a gun, or there's always a kitchen knife handy. It'd be so easy.  
  
Maggie's gone. Sam. He didn't try hard enough--he knows how to twist the system, but he just stood there, gaping and sobbing, while his baby boy died from something that shouldn't have been fatal.  
  
He _knows_ the system. He should have been able to work it, but instead he watched.  
  
His life is over. And he wants it to end.  
  
But he's not good enough to join Sammy yet. So even though he's tempted, he'll wait until he's been punished fully, no matter how long it takes.


	15. the only dependable people (Angel the Series xover)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: the only dependable people
> 
> Fandom: Angel the Series/Leverage
> 
> Disclaimer: not my characters
> 
> Warnings: spoilers for Angel series finale
> 
> Pairings: none
> 
> Rating: PG
> 
> Wordcount: 600
> 
> Point of view: third
> 
> Prompt: Leverage/Angel: the series, Eliot and Lindsey(brothers), Since when was Lindsey the overprotective one?

Lindsey knows that working with a team only ends in pain, blood, and betrayal. A shitload of betrayal. The only dependable people are family, and Eliot used to know that, too. He's forgotten it, though, because of Nate Ford and his merry band of thieves.  
  
Well, enough's enough. Lindsey survived Angel's plan and Lorne's heel-face turn, and he won't let Eliot feel a knife in the back (bullets to the chest) because Lindsey's the big brother and it's about damn time he stepped up and took care of his twin.  
  
Running off to be a lawyer and selling his soul was one thing. Eliot was safe then--or, well, as safe as someone can get being a bounty hunter. But he was good at what he did, and Lindsey watched out for him, in a distant and mystical way. But as a bounty hunter, everyone knew it was just a job and anything he retrieved could be retrieved back. A few times, he was even hired to steal something he'd already stolen.  
  
But this, what Ford's doing? He's making enemies. Powerful, vindictive enemies. And Lindsey doesn't have Wolfram and Hart on his side anymore.  
  
He'll have to step in. Actually, _physically_ step in to keep his baby brother safe.  
  
And it's only when he's standing just inside the door and watching El laugh with the hacker and thief that the ache sharpens in his chest. He's missed his brother. All these years, he's missed his brother _so much_.  
  
And these people will not betray Eliot. Lindsey's here now with the only family he'll claim, and he'll kill them all before his little brother hurts like he did.

... 

Eliot’s brother is even scarier than him, which Alec hadn’t thought possible. Lindsey is cold and calculating in a way Eliot isn’t. They’re both smart, but Eliot hides his intelligence behind belligerence. Lindsey doesn’t bother with the mask. And where Eliot’s eyes are warm, Lindsey’s are Arctic. 

Lindsey doesn’t like any of them, and he lets them know it. He dismisses Nate with a glance, and is icily polite to Sophie. He’s barely even looked at Alec since Eliot introduced them. And Parker… well. For her, he turns on the same good-ole-boy charm Eliot pulls out around most women or when he’s on a con. Alec’s not sure why he does it, but he knows he doesn’t like it. Not one bit.

Alec wants the brother to leave. Lindsey is frightening, and taking all of Eliot’s attention, and looks at all of them but Parker like they’re already dead and he’s planning where to hide the bodies.

But Eliot is smiling. In a way Alec’s never seen before, Eliot is goddamned <i>smiling</i>. Like it’s his birthday and Christmas and Santa not only brought everything on his list, but all the stuff he wanted and didn’t ask for, too.

Alec did in-depth background checks on the team before that first job, and then even deeper background checks after. Eliot Spencer is a ghost. Before the mid-nineties, he didn’t exist. Alec couldn’t find a hint of him. He has no idea what Eliot’s real name is. 

When he looks up Lindsey McDonald, he gets nowhere. The next morning, when Lindsey walks into the kitchen at Eliot’s back, he smirks at Alec, like he knows Alec tried and found absolutely <i>nothing</i>.

Damn, but does Alec hate that man.

Not that it matters. Eliot didn’t like any of them either, at the beginning. They won him over eventually. They’ll get his brother, too.

(Alec hopes. Because Lindsey is scarier than Eliot, and if he’s already decided where to hide the bodies, there really is nothing they can do.)


	16. untitled (future!fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: untitled  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: future!fic  
Pairings: Nate/Sophie  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 175  
Prompt: Any, Any, funeral

She's attended her own funeral multiple times over the years, always as part of a con. She likes hearing what people have to say, even if they're not talking about her. She's attended the funerals of friends, and once a cousin—sometimes part of a con, but sometimes truly. 

She attended Sam's funeral, not that she'll ever tell Nate. 

"You've gotta stop doin' this," Nate says, stepping up beside her on the hill. 

It's a double funeral this time, and Hardison is sobbing while Eliot reads the eulogy. Parker's face is tucked into Hardison's chest. Maggie, Sterling, Tara, so many colleagues—some, she knows, have come purely to make sure Nate is actually dead. 

"I wish it weren't necessary," she murmurs, resting her head on Nate's shoulder. 

This will be the last of her funerals she attends. 

"It's for the best," Nate says, and if she didn't believe that, she wouldn't have let him do this to their children. 

She blows them a kiss, Eliot and Parker and Hardison, and then she lets Nate pull her away.


	17. more things in Heaven and Earth (fluff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: more things in Heaven and Earth  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: none  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 42  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Parker, "What is sexting?"

"Um." Alec's horrified gaze darts to Eliot, whose hand is frozen halfway to his mouth, the cracker crumbling in his grip.

“Parker.” Eliot flicks his fingers to get rid of the crumbs. “Ask Nate.”

“Okay!” she chirps, bouncing out of the room.


	18. I didn't want any flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: I didn’t want any flowers  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: character death  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 250  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Eliot + Team, well-meaning lies

He doesn't say _'tis but a flesh wound_ even though he wants to. Wouldn't Hardison be shocked, that he's seen Monty Python? The dead parrot is his favorite.  
  
He doesn't say _it's just some bruises_, and he doesn't say, _just some cracked ribs_. It's worse than that. Hell of a lot worse.  
  
They told him to quit lying about how badly he's hurt, to stop hiding the blood and broken bones. Said it's their job to take care of him after he takes all the bullets and hits.  
  
More than that, they said, they wanted to make sure he was as safe as he kept them.  
  
They've scattered, supposed to meet up at Hardison's safe house for this town.  
  
He wants to say goodbye. But if they know he's this badly hurt, they'll come after him instead of going to ground. And this way, they won't have a clue until it's too late. This way, he's keeping them safe to the last.  
  
Besides, it's not just a flesh wound. He can feel it, the silence and darkness creeping up. Not even a hospital could save him now.  
  
He's on a bridge, collapsed against the railing. He won't jump; he'll let Death walk right up to him, but he won't go meet the bastard ahead of time. Instead, he pulls out the com and lets it fall into the water.  
  
His last words to his team—his _family_—were _I'll see y’all on the other side_. It wasn't a lie.


	19. the universal language (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: the universal language  
Disclaimer: I don’t own Eliot or the nephew  
Warnings: takes place before “Second David Job”  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 260  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot, spending time with his nephew

Before heading back to LA for reconnaissance, Eliot swings by his sister’s place. It’s been over ten years since he went home and he knows it’s long overdue. Emily’s happy to see him, just like he figured she’d be—he’s the prodigal brother. She has no idea who he is. What he is, what he’s done, what’ll he keep on doing until it kills him.

The husband is a good enough guy, with a quiet voice and gentle hands he will never raise to Emily in anger. That’s all Eliot really cares about. Emily never got the brunt of Dad’s rage and Mom’s helplessness, and he never wants her to experience that, no matter what it’d take to make sure. If that meant a midnight visit with the husband and a deep grave far out in the middle of a pasture, so be it. Luckily for the husband, though, he seems the kinda man that’ll never happen to.

The kid’s bigger than Eliot thought he’d be. Already seven. Where do the years go? Just yesterday, Eliot got the phone-call. Now the kid is always asking questions, peppering Eliot for information. Where he goes, what he does, who he sees. Eliot has no idea what to answer. He looks to Emily for help, but she’s grinning, snuggled up with the husband. 

Finally, as the kid pauses for breath, Eliot asks, “Kid, you like horses?” 

The kid nods, face lit up in excitement. Eliot smiles and looks to Emily for permission. 

Her one instruction is, “Have him back for supper.”


	20. ‘til my dyin’ day (future!fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: ‘til my dyin’ day  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: character death, violence  
Pairings: Parker/Hardison/Eliot  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 135  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Any, Any, "I'm coming back for you. I promise"

  


_I'm coming back for you_, she says, _I promise_. And then she runs.  
  
He isn't awake to hear the words. It's the only reason she can find the strength to leave.  
  
.  
  
She still doesn't know what went wrong. But with Alec down (head wound) and Eliot not answering on the com, the only thing she can do is lead the bad guys off and hope Alec wakes up conscious enough to escape.  
  
She’s bleeding from a gunshot to the shoulder and she knows she has no chance.  
  
.  
  
_I’m coming back for you_, she hears, _I promise_.  
  
_Eliot_, she whispers, the goons loud as they hurry through the woods after her, _get Hardison out. Forget about me_.  
  
She pulls the com from her ear, kisses it, and throws it into the brush. And then she runs.


	21. need-to-know (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: need-to-know  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: spoilers for season 2  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount:165  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot/Anyone, talking about the past

Eliot never mentions any time in his life before his twentieth birthday. He once told Sophie about the farm he was living at then, and the bay mare he'd loved. He only left when she died.

Nate and Hardison have both researched him, Nate when he was chasing a ghost and Hardison when he learned who his new teammates were. There are files upon files for Eliot Spencer, but none of them say anything real, anything beyond speculation. 

But Eliot never talks about his life, beyond little tidbits that might relate to a case. And even then, with consideration, those tidbits are from after his twentieth birthday. 

After the job in the boxing ring, Sophie thinks she's learned something important about Eliot Spencer. After Eliot gently coaches Hardison in self-defense, so does he. Eliot talks Parker through a nightmare and Nate off a bender, and they're all so sure they know him. 

They don't, but that's need-to-know information and his past is his.


	22. untitled (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: untitled  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: takes place sometime in season 1  
Pairings: pre-Eliot/Parker, pre-Eliot/Hardison, pre-Parker/Eliot/Hardion, past-Eliot/Amy, past Eliot/Damien Moreau  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 230  
Prompt: Any fandom, any characters, “The only way to save them is to leave them forever.”

Eliot likes sex, for the most part; he never stays the night, and they always go back to his partner’s place or a hotel. He doesn’t bring anyone to his apartment, or to wherever the team is staying. 

He knows immediately that he has a physical attraction to both Parker and Hardison, but he doesn’t act on it because first there’s the job, then there’s the going their separate ways, and then they’re on a team. Relationships on teams rarely end well. 

When it moves past physical attraction and becomes actual affection for them, despite how annoying and odd they are, Eliot knows there could be trouble. 

One night stands are one thing; short dalliances are another. Actual relationships? He had Amy, before the army; he had Damien, after. 

Damien. It had ended as well as it could; they’re both still alive, after all, though he knows Damien will always be a threat. Another reason to avoid starting anything with Hardison or Parker. They’re dancing around each other, anyway. There isn’t room for him. 

When they learn about Damien, that after six months, Eliot had never mentioned—well, he figures that’s the end of it.

It’s for the best, anyway. He’ll protect them as long as he can. 

(What he doesn’t know—yet—is that Hardison and Parker are going to give him a couple more months and then pounce.)


	23. bottom of the ninth, bases loaded (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: bottom of the ninth, bases loaded  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: future!fic  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 150  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: teamfic!, Eliot always said he'd die fighting (he never told them it would be to save the rest of them).

Parker's down, bullet to the thigh. Hardison's with her, trying to keep her still and putting pressure on the wound. She'll live, if they can get her out of here.

Sophie's the hostage, one of Reynolds' goons holding a gun to her head and demanding some shit they can't deliver, trapped here at the bottom of a barrel. 

Nate's trying to reason with the bastard, but Eliot knows they passed that point a bullet ago.

There's a gun in reach. Full clip; the fucker carrying it went down with a crushed laraynx. There's a gun in reach and goons with jumpy trigger-fingers, and Parker will bleed out if she stays here. 

Nine goons, each with a gun. Reynolds crying in the corner, pissing and moaning about something or other, and Eliot can kill them all. 

He moves, knowing how this will play out, but his team will live.


	24. lightning strike (Greek myth xover)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: lightning strike  
Fandom: Leverage/Greek mythology  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: minor language  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 155  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Eliot, "It's a very particular type of [insert storm characteristic here. Lightning? Thunder?]"

Lightning flashes and Eliot _flinches_. "Fuck," he mutters. 

Alec shares a bewildered glance with Sophie but Parker keeps making the celery dance while Nate flips through the TV guide. (And why he's reading paper-copy, Alec doesn't know. He'll worry about that later.) 

"Somethin' wrong, Eliot?" Alec asks hesitantly after Sophie commands him with an eyebrow raise. 

Eliot _sighs_. "No," he growls. "Just a distinctive lightning bolt, is all."

“A distinctive… lightning… bolt,” Sophie repeats. 

“Yeah.” Eliot slams the bottle of vegetable oil onto the counter. “My daddy’ll be by any day now, the fuckin’ deadbeat.” He scowls at the frying pan of carmlizing onions. “Sophie, don’t let Parker outta your sight. Dad’s got no self-control and if he touches her, I’ll have to kill him again, king of the mountain or not.” 

Alec shares _another_ glance with Sophie, but this time he doesn’t say a thing. He’s not touching _that_ with a thousand foot pole.


	25. everyone has a breaking point (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: everyone has a breaking point  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: future!fic  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount:160  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Hardison + team, they all get tortured but Hardison is the only one who breaks

It's not his fault, and they tell him that, but he doesn't listen because he doesn't want to hear, because he broke, he told, he gave in and gave up, didn't have faith, didn't believe in the team, didn't believe in _Eliot_, and that—that—  
  
He doesn't go to the funerals. He's not worthy.  
  
"Alec," Sophie says. "Sweetheart. Please—"  
  
He turns away, closes his eyes, covers his ears. He hasn't even turned on the computer in the three days he's been here, or showered, or eaten a thing. He's cried more tears than he had water in his body, and he hopes he dies.  
  
"If you die," the Parker in his mind whispers, "then our deaths are pointless. Hardison. Don't you wanna make those men pay?"  
  
_Yes,_ he thinks.  
  
"Sophie," he says, and his voice is so hoarse it hurts. "Sophie."  
  
She cries, wrapping her arms around him, and he thinks, _They'll bleed and suffer and die._


	26. a true friend (fluff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: a true friend  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: references to violence  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 125  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Leverage, Any (+team), real friends help you hide the bodies

"Uh, Eliot?" Parker says after Eliot picks up, "I think I killed him." 

There's silence for a moment and then Eliot asks, "Where are you?" 

.

Some idiot tried to mug Parker. Unfortunately for him, she's much stronger than she looks, figured out the basics of self-defense on her own, and then had additional training from Eliot goddamned Spencer. 

Also unfortunately for the mugger, she hadn’t quite figured out how to adjust how hard she hits. 

.

Eliot looks down at the body, then at Parker bouncing on her toes. “I’ll deal with this,” he says. “But tomorrow, we’re adding to your lessons.” 

“Thank you, Eliot,” she chirps, kissing his cheek and then skipping away. 

He sighs, shaking his head. Having friends is so weird.


	27. guardian demon (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: guardian demon  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: depressing  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 175  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot/any or Eliot + team, he was sure that someday they were going to realize what a monster he was an abandon him

He's a killer. That's what retrieval specialist really means. He's a goddamned killer-for-hire who's wanted in a dozen countries and a person-of-interest in a dozen more. He's dangerous with too much blood on his hands to ever wash off, and they'll realize it one day, this team that's become family, they'll figure out what he is, what he's done, and they'll—

They'll turn away. They'll turn him out. They'll wash their hands of him and be done.

And he knows he'll go. Because they deserve better than him, Hardison and Parker and Sophie. Even Nate, really, no matter what Nate's become these days.

When they finally decide to get rid of him, he'll go. But he won't go far because, no matter what else he is, he's the best at what he does, and even though as a person he's not good enough for them, he'll stay close enough to keep them safe.

He just won't let them see him do it. 

(And yeah, he knows exactly how it'll end. He wouldn't have it any other way.)


	28. final solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: final solution  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: AU  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 80  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Nate & Parker gen, Daddy's little psycho

Sometimes, when the mark isn't intimidated by Hardison's skill with computers and making money disappear, or doesn't fall for Sophie’s charms, or refuses to be bought by Nate’s offers, or doesn’t flinch from Eliot’s fists, Nate will shake his head and tut, then release Parker on the poor fool. 

Whenever things have gotten that far, his one command is “Don’t get caught, dear.”

Eliot shadows her, to clean up the mess, and then takes her for ice cream on Nate’s bill.


	29. sacrificial lion (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: sacrificial lion  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: dark  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 235  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot/Nate or Hardison, Eliot's been caught and is being tortured but they never took out his com

Sophie’s sobbing, Parker pacing, Nate holding his head in his hands, and Alec trying to trace the feed. Whoever it is, though, they’re good. Really really good. Too good.

Alec throws his keyboard away and spins around, surging to his feet. Parker flinches back, but Sophie and Nate ignore him.

He doesn’t know what to do. 

Eliot hasn’t screamed once, but his breaths are shallow and quick, and the questions keep coming, one after the other, sharp and cold. 

Eliot hasn’t said a thing. 

Alec is helpless. He’s not made for this, to sit and listen. He needs something to do. Something to hack. But whoever it is, whoever they are, they’re better than him. And they have Eliot.

There’s a single gunshot. He can’t hear Eliot breathing. 

He collapses back into his seat and Parker sinks to the floor, arms wrapped around herself. Nate pulls Sophie to him and they just hold onto each other.

Alec stares at the screen, at the little dot that is Eliot, that he can’t find. 

It’s moving. They’re taking his body somewhere. 

Everything in him narrows to knowing that he’ll get vengeance. He’ll destroy them. Just as soon as he finds them, and he shuts away the pain and anger and despair. Anywhere they’ll take a body, it can’t be shielded by computers. 

He’ll get them. 

Eliot never screamed or begged. Alec refuses to do any less.


	30. exaction (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: exaction  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: allusions to violence and child abuse  
Pairings: Eliot/Hardison  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 135  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Alec/Eliot, don't ask

Eliot's body is covered in scars. Alec likes to take his time, whenever they (far too infrequently) have a chance, likes to lick and kiss his way along each, trying to erase whatever horror caused them with a better memory.

Eliot tells him where they came from, if he asks. Quietly, calmly, without emotion, he details exactly what he suffered. What he survived. 

Alec has far fewer scars. Eliot’s asked, looking to see if he needed to hunt someone down. Alec assured him that there was no point. 

There’s one, though, that made Alec flinch when Eliot’s finger traced it. Eliot moved on, with barely a glance to show he’d noticed and filed away Alec’s reaction.

Eliot never asks. 

A month later, Alec finds an obituary taped on his laptop. 

Alec never thanks him.


	31. ghosts (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: ghosts  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: none  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount:  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: team, enemies from the past

They all have people from the past after them, of course. People they've stolen from, or people they've put away, or people they've left barely alive in a pool of their own entrails. 

And while Sophie and Parker's enemies are usually placated with a bundle of cash, and while Hardison's are searching for a ghost in a computer system, and while Nate's languish in prison, sending hitman after hitman who keep somehow mysteriously getting lost or dead, Eliot's—well, Eliot's are dangerous.

The Butcher of Kiev is easy compared to some others, and at night he dreams in shades red and black and blue. Sophie and Parker and Hardison, and even Nate, don’t really understand. They’re thieves and an ex-cop (basically), and honestly, they’ve never actually hurt anyone. Victimless crime, and now righteous crusade, and Eliot—he’s the odd man out. 

He has hurt people. He’s killed people. He’s stolen from one villain to give the loot over to another, and he’s left behind wrathful crime lords in a dozen countries. 

He wonders sometimes if Nate ever checked up on the Butcher, because he never said anything: the Butcher didn’t leave that kitchen alive. 

There have been a couple others who caught up with him, but luckily they all went after Eliot, not his team. Soon, though, he knows, someone will figure out his weakness. Soon they’ll start targeting the team, and he knows he should leave, for their safety. 

But he doesn’t want to go. These people are home now. 

He will leave, as soon as the bad guys figure it out. Not even he can shake the past for long.


	32. only the summer was sweet (future!fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: only the summer was sweet  
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Anne Sexton  
Warnings: future!fic; character death  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 140  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Any, any, they used to be inseparable but now they only see each other once a year, always in winter

They meet at the gate. Walk in together. 

Parker sets down a new bunny; she's cycled through the rainbow and is back at blue.

Hardison sets down a new comic; he's still on Batman. It seems to be the fittest.

Sophie sets down a pink rose and a Hershey kiss; he'd said they were his favorite, once. 

Nate carefully collects the offerings and gently places them in the box with the others. As Parker, Hardison, and Sophie walk away, he buries the box again, filling in the dirt before shoveling snow back onto the grave.

There is no body. A steel box instead of a coffin. And the name on the stone is wrong.

Every year, on Christmas day, they meet at the gate and walk to the grave. Eight now.

It isn't enough, and he keeps shoveling the snow.


	33. Curtain Call (mid-series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: curtain call  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: speculation of character death  
Pairings: none  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 230  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Eliot + team, one of these days, they were going to lose Eliot and never see it coming

They all try not to think about it. You know. That final job. The curtain call. The one twist to the con that Nate can't plan for and--

Yeah. It's always in the back of their minds, _is this it? is there where I fall, fail, let them all down? is this that day?_

But even more than Sophie wondering if the mark is buying it, or Parker thinking maybe that rope is a little frayed, or Hardison worrying about whether or not the coding will hold up, or Nate trying to see a dozen steps ahead, Eliot thinks, _this could be it, today, now, this could be it for me, and who'll protect them then?_

And all of them, Sophie and Parker and Hardison and Nate, they all think that, too. Because he bleeds and he bruises and he breaks, for them, so they won't, and there's only so much a body can take. 

It could be any day, any fight—he’ll go down and not get up, he knows it, they all know it. And while try to avoid wondering, he enters every fight like it’ll be the last because he always fights harder if he thinks he’ll never see them again. 

Because if he’s gone, then they might bleed and bruise (and he doesn’t think they’ll break, but they know better) and he’s here so they never will.


	34. with a whimper (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: with a whimper  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: character death  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 115  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: Any, Any, For all (his/her) strength, (he/she) didn't go out fighting

It isn't a fight that kills him. He's not in the middle of a whirlwind of violence, kicking ass and saving his team. It’s not a battle or a con or anything but his past finally catching up with a vengeance, a ten-year-old bounty rearing its head.

Hardison is mid-rant about Eliot’s lack of computer skills. Sophie is laughing at Nate’s eyeroll. Parker is eying a nearby businessman’s wallet.

Eliot’s guard is down. They haven’t worked a job in almost two weeks. No one knows they’re in this town, using these names. It’s a vacation. 

He doesn’t hear or feel the shot. Direct to the heart, dead before he hits the ground. 

He’s always hated guns.


	35. the final bow (AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: the final bow  
Disclaimer: not my characters  
Warnings: AU at beginning of season 2  
Pairings: none stated  
Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 205  
Point of view: third  
Prompt: team, only four members of the team were at Sophie's play

She doesn’t look into the audience until after the end, just in case they aren’t there. She'd sent the tickets out, hoping, but just in case, she can't know until the end. 

A quick glance shows Nate and Hardison. Another reveals Parker higher up, trying to blend into the wall. Eliot isn't there. 

She takes a second bow and leaves the stage.

.

By the time she gets to the lobby, the team has met up and they're speaking uncomfortably. It sends an ache through her; she did this. She pushed for that job against Nate's old company. If she hadn't, they'd still all be together. 

Nate turns to face her, in the middle of Hardison's babble. "Sophie," he says. "You were wonderful."

She stares up at him. "What's wrong?" she asks. It's obvious something is. 

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he looks at her again, she can tell he's been crying. 

"I need to speak to all of you," he says quietly. 

Parker and Hardison share a glance. "Why isn't Eliot here?" Parker asks. "Didn't we all get tickets?"

Sophie places a hand to her mouth. By the expression on Nate's face... 

"That's what we need to talk about," Nate says.


End file.
